A common procedure for handling pain associated with intervertebral discs that have become degenerated due to various factors such as trauma or aging is the use of intervertebral spacers to fuse, e.g., one or more adjacent vertebral bodies. Generally, to fuse the adjacent vertebral bodies, the native intervertebral disc is first partially or fully removed. An intervertebral spacer is then typically inserted between neighboring vertebrae to maintain normal disc spacing and restore spinal stability, thereby facilitating an intervertebral fusion.
There are a number of known conventional intervertebral spacers and methodologies in the art for accomplishing the vertebral fusion. These include screw and rod arrangements, solid bone implants, and intervertebral spacers which include a cage or other implant mechanism which, typically, may be packed with bone and/or bone-growth inducing substances. These devices are implanted between adjacent vertebral bodies in order to fuse the vertebral bodies together, potentially alleviating any associated pain.
However, there are drawbacks associated with the known conventional intervertebral spacers and methodologies. For example, some conventional intervertebral spacers may lack sufficient surface area to optimally fuse adjacent vertebral bodies.